Vice President Al Gore borrowed a tactic from his former political opponent Dan Quayle and took a swipe at the entertainment industry over its portrayals of sex on April 29.

Speaking at a White House event held to highlight a government study showing a 16 percent decline in the U.S. teen birth rate from 1991 to 1997, Gore said that despite the gain, the rate remained far too high. And despite his making the link, he still collects money from his chums in Hollywood.

"There are so many sexual messages in the media," Gore said. "I think it's fair to conclude that maybe one factor in the U.S. having the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the developed world is also the prevalence of sexualized messages, particularly in so much of the media," he said.

In May 1992, as vice president, Republican Quayle launched a political crusade against Hollywood and sparked a controversy that lasted through his re-election campaign against Democrat Gore by blasting Murphy Brown, a television character, for having a baby out of wedlock.

Since then, Quayle has claimed vindication and staked his political future on an appeal to traditional family values.

"Murphy Brown is gone, and I'm still fighting for the American family," Quayle said earlier last month when he formally declared his candidacy for president.

Quayle's campaign spokesman, Jonathan Baron, said in response to Gore's comments: "Nothing is quite as amusing as watching Al Gore and the Clinton administration try to make the case for the importance of core values like integrity and responsibility."

"Former Vice President Quayle has been talking about these values for many years, and it is clear that he was right and he is right about the need to defend and restore the middle-class values that made America a great nation," Baron said.

Nice try...

On April 30, 1999 seventeen members of the US Congress filed a lawsuit in federal court charging President Bill Clinton with violating the United States Constitution. The lawsuit, initiated by Rep. Tom Campbell (R-CA), charges the President with a clear violation of Article One, Section Eight, Clause Eleven of the US Constitution.

"We are at war," stated Congressman Campbell. "Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution gives Congress the sole power to declare war," he continued. "No inherent' power of the President as Commander-in-Chief gives him the authority to declare war where there was no attack on the United States, no summons from an ally under attack, or no emergency that prevented Congressional deliberation," Campbell added.

"For more than 50 years, presidents have engaged in foreign adventurism at the cost of American lives without regard for the Constitution. But for the first time we have a president who not only refuses to acknowledge the Constitution, but also the War Powers Resolution which - in my opinion - improperly transferred constitutionally non-delegable powers from the legislative to executive branch," said Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), who also is part of the suit. "Apparently this president thinks he is king, for in our representative democracy no man is given the power to unilaterally commit troops to battle without the express authorization of the people's representatives in Congress."

A similar suit, initiated by former Rep. Ron Dellums (D-CA), was brought against President George Bush over his air strikes on Iraq in 1991.

Tidbit courtesy of Michael R. Allen of SpinTech.

NFA executive targets lack of social programs

In the aftermath of the Littleton, Colorado and Taber, Alberta tragedies society must not lose track of the root causes of such horrendous violence. Donna Ferolie, Liaison Coordinator with the National Firearms Association of Canada stated that "It is clear from these disasters that Canada not unlike the USA falls short in its social programs targeted at emotionally disturbed youth."

Speaking at northern Ontario gatherings over the past several weeks, Ferolie emphasized that the federal government is way off the mark in its wasteful efforts to bring in universal firearms registration for hunters and target shooters. She estimated that the Chretien liberal regime has wasted over $200 million so far on implementation of this silly legislation with hardly a gun registered, while programs that could help solve the social problems in society at the root of such violence go wanting.

Ferolie stated that "women's' crisis centres across Canada have been closing at an alarming rate due to lack of funding, suicide prevention programs are woefully underfunded and we simply do not have adequate crime prevention programs in place to deal with early detection before emotionally disturbed kids become young offenders." There was also discussion regarding the need for a national registry of violent offenders and a national DNA data bank. Ferolie, who comes from a background in the social services field working with young offenders, parolees and victims of violence, stated that "the NFA is committed to work with governments, communities and victims' rights groups to develop meaningful social programs targeted at crime prevention/"

She outlined a plan of action put forward by the NFA entitled the "Practical Firearms Control System" that could readily replace the currently unworkable Firearms Act and cost taxpayers a fraction of the cost thus freeing up hundreds of millions of needed dollars that could go to support the social programs she is advocating. Ferolie said that "it is high time in this country that governments give victims the priority they deserve and support crime prevention programs."

For further information on the proposed practical firearms control system
contact the NFA at http://www.nfa.ca